Devices comprising crystalline materials and related systems

ABSTRACT

A method includes forming a semiconductor structure. The structure includes a first material, a blocking material, a second material in an amorphous form, and a third material in an amorphous form. The blocking material is disposed between the first material and the second material. At least the second material and the third material each comprise silicon and/or germanium. The structure is exposed to a temperature above a crystallization temperature of the third material and below a crystallization temperature of the second material. Semiconductor structures, memory devices, and systems are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/121,966, filed Sep. 5, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,707,298, issuedJul. 7, 2020, the subject matter of which is related to the subjectmatter of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/121,928, “SemiconductorStructures, Memory Devices, and Systems, and Methods of Forming Same,”filed Sep. 5, 2018, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/122,004,“Semiconductor Structures, Memory Devices, and Systems, and Methods ofForming Same,” filed Sep. 5, 2018, the disclosure of each of which isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to the field of semiconductordevice design and fabrication. More specifically, embodiments of thepresent disclosure relate to semiconductor structures, such astransistors comprising crystalline materials, memory devices, andelectronic systems comprising the semiconductor structures, and tomethods of forming the semiconductor structures.

BACKGROUND

Solid phase crystallization (SPC) and solid phase epitaxy (SPE) areconventionally used to form Si, SiGe, and Ge films for solid stateelectronics. However, controlling grain growth can be a problem forprocess integration because grain boundaries may occur in unwantedlocations, which limit device performance and reliability.

In SPC, a film of homogeneous amorphous material is formed having auniform crystallization temperature (T_(c)). Upon heating to atemperature above the T_(c), nucleation occurs at random locationsthroughout the film, and the material crystallizes starting at thenucleation sites. Eventually, grain boundaries form at interfaces wheredifferent crystalline structures meet. These grain boundaries may occurrandomly throughout the film.

In SPE, a film stack is formed having sections of material havingvarying crystallization temperatures. As the stack is heated above theT_(c) of one section, crystallization begins. The material with a lowerT_(c) can “seed” crystallization of the material with the higher T_(c).The benefit of this method is that crystallization can be performed at arelatively lower temperature. However, this method may also cause theformation of grain boundaries at undesired locations. For example, if alower-T_(c) material is above and below a higher-T_(c) material, a grainboundary typically forms within the higher-T_(c) material as thehigher-T_(c) material crystallizes from both sides. The grain boundaryis generally nonplanar due to random orientation of grains within thedifferent lower-T_(c) materials. Such grain boundaries may limit the useof these materials in certain applications, such as vertical thin-filmtransistors (TFTs).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified cross-sectional view illustrating a structureformed by a method according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a simplified cross-sectional view illustrating the structureof FIG. 1 , on which additional material has been added according toembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a simplified cross-sectional view illustrating the structureof FIG. 2 , after annealing for a period of time in a method accordingto embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a simplified cross-sectional view illustrating the structureof FIG. 3 , after annealing for an additional time, according toembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a memory device including amemory array comprising transistors in accordance with embodiments ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an electronic systemincluding semiconductor devices comprising at least one transistor inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an image obtained via scanning transmission electronmicroscopy (STEM) of a cross-section of a structure formed according toembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an image obtained via STEM of a larger cross-section of thestructure shown in FIG. 7 .

FIG. 9 is an image obtained via STEM of a cross-section of a structureformed by conventional methods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description provides specific details, such as materialtypes, material thicknesses, and processing conditions in order toprovide a thorough description of embodiments of the disclosure.However, a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that theembodiments of the disclosure may be practiced without employing thesespecific details. Indeed, the embodiments of the disclosure may bepracticed in conjunction with conventional fabrication techniquesemployed in the industry. In addition, the description provided belowdoes not form a complete process flow for manufacturing a semiconductordevice (e.g., a memory device). The semiconductor device structuresdescribed below do not form a complete semiconductor device. Only thoseprocess acts and structures necessary to understand the embodiments ofthe disclosure are described in detail below. Additional acts to formthe complete semiconductor device from the semiconductor devicestructures may be performed by conventional fabrication techniques. Alsonote, any drawings accompanying the application are for illustrativepurposes only, and are thus not drawn to scale. Additionally, elementscommon between figures may retain the same numerical designation.

As used herein, the term “configured” refers to a size, shape, materialcomposition, material distribution, orientation, and arrangement of oneor more of at least one structure and at least one apparatusfacilitating operation of one or more of the structure and the apparatusin a predetermined way.

As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise.

As used herein, “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one ormore of the associated listed items.

As used herein, the terms “longitudinal,” “vertical,” “lateral,” and“horizontal” are in reference to a major plane of a substrate (e.g.,base material, base structure, base construction, etc.) in or on whichone or more structures and/or features are formed and are notnecessarily defined by earth's gravitational field. A “lateral” or“horizontal” direction is a direction that is substantially parallel tothe major plane of the substrate, while a “longitudinal” or “vertical”direction is a direction that is substantially perpendicular to themajor plane of the substrate. The major plane of the substrate isdefined by a surface of the substrate having a relatively large areacompared to other surfaces of the substrate.

As used herein, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,”“lower,” “bottom,” “above,” “upper,” “top,” “front,” “rear,” “left,”“right,” and the like, may be used for ease of description to describeone element's or feature's relationship to another element(s) orfeature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Unless otherwise specified,the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass differentorientations of the materials in addition to the orientation depicted inthe figures. For example, if materials in the figures are inverted,elements described as “below” or “beneath” or “under” or “on bottom of”other elements or features would then be oriented “above” or “on top of”the other elements or features. Thus, the term “below” can encompassboth an orientation of above and below, depending on the context inwhich the term is used, which will be evident to one of ordinary skillin the art. The materials may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90degrees, inverted, flipped, etc.) and the spatially relative descriptorsused herein interpreted accordingly.

As used herein, the term “substantially” in reference to a givenparameter, property, or condition means and includes to a degree thatone of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the givenparameter, property, or condition is met with a degree of variance, suchas within acceptable manufacturing tolerances. By way of example,depending on the particular parameter, property, or condition that issubstantially met, the parameter, property, or condition may be at least90.0% met, at least 95.0% met, at least 99.0% met, at least 99.9% met,or even 100.0% met.

As used herein, the term “about” in reference to a given parameter isinclusive of the stated value and has the meaning dictated by thecontext (e.g., it includes the degree of error associated withmeasurement of the given parameter).

FIG. 1 is a simplified cross-sectional view illustrating a firstmaterial 102 over which a blocking material 104 is formed. The firstmaterial 102 may be or include Si, Ge, or Si and Ge in any ratio (i.e.,Si_(1-x)Ge_(x), where x is between 0 and 1), and optionally, one or moredopants, and may be amorphous. The first material 102 may be formed byany of the methods described below. Also as described below, the firstmaterial 102 may exhibit a lower crystallization temperature than thecrystallization temperature of some other materials.

The blocking material 104 may be or include an oxide, a nitride, acarbon-containing material, or another material (e.g., a material thattraps a limited amount of charge), and may exhibit a high dielectricconstant (k) or relative permittivity. For example, the blockingmaterial 104 may have a dielectric constant from about 1 to about 100.The blocking material 104 may include, but is not limited to, a carbonfilm, Al₂O₃, ZrOx, SiO₂, SiN, etc. In some embodiments, the blockingmaterial 104 is SiO₂. The blocking material 104 is selected to exhibit ahigher crystallization temperature than that of the first material 102.To tailor the crystallization temperature, the blocking material 104 mayoptionally be doped, such as with carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, or acombinations thereof.

The blocking material 104 may, for example, be formed by one or more ofa growth process and a deposition process. In certain embodiments, theblocking material 104 may be formed by oxidizing a surface of the firstmaterial 102. The blocking material 104 may be formed over the firstmaterial 102 as a continuous material or may be a discontinuousmaterial. The blocking material 104 may be formed at a thickness ofbetween about 1 Å and about 50 Å. If the blocking material 104 is formedas a continuous material, the blocking material 104 may be formed at athickness sufficient to form the continuous material and enableelectrical current to pass therethrough. As described below, theblocking material 104 forms an interfacial barrier between materials toprevent growth fronts from diffusing between the materials.

As shown in FIG. 2 , a second material 106 may be formed over theblocking material 104. The second material 106 may be formed on or overthe blocking material 104 using one or more of a growth process and adeposition process. By way of non-limiting example, the second material106 may be formed on or over the blocking material 104 using one or moreof an in-situ growth process, a physical vapor deposition (“PVD”)process, a chemical vapor deposition (“CVD”) process, a metallorganicchemical vapor deposition (“MOCVD”) process, a plasma-enhanced chemicalvapor deposition (PECVD) process, an atomic layer deposition (“ALD”)process, a spin-coating process, and a blanket coating process. In-situgrowth processes include, but are not limited to, epitaxial growthprocesses, such as atomic layer epitaxy (ALE), pulsed atomic layerepitaxy (PALE), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), gas source MBE,organometallic MBE, and chemical beam epitaxy (CBE). PVD processesinclude, but are not limited to, one or more of sputtering, evaporation,and ionized PVD. The process utilized to form the second material 106 onor over the blocking material 104 may at least partially depend on thematerial properties of the second material 106 and the blocking material104. The second material 106 may exhibit a higher crystallizationtemperature than the crystallization temperature of the first material102.

In some embodiments, the first material 102 with the blocking material104 thereon may be placed in a vacuum chamber and maintained at adeposition temperature (e.g., less than about 600° C., less than about500° C., etc.) to form the second material 106. One or more gaseousprecursors to the second material 106 may be provided to the vacuumchamber, and may react at the exposed surface of the blocking material104 to form the second material 106. The second material 106 may have adifferent composition from the composition of the first material 102.The second material 106 may be or include Si, Ge, or Si and Ge in anyratio (i.e., Si_(1-x)Ge_(x), where x is between 0 and 1), andoptionally, one or more dopants, and may be amorphous.

The second material 106 may have a thickness up to about 10 μm, such asbetween about 25 Å and about 5 μm, or between about 100 Å and 1,000 Å (1μm).

Also as shown in FIG. 2 , a third material 108 may be formed over thesecond material 106 to form a structure 120. The third material 108 maybe in an amorphous form, and may be or include Si, Ge, or Si and Ge inany ratio (i.e., Si_(1-x)Ge_(x), where x is between 0 and 1), andoptionally, one or more dopants. The third material 108 may be formed bymethods described above with respect to the second material 106. Thethird material 108 may have the same composition as the first material102, or may have a different composition. The third material 108exhibits a crystallization temperature (i.e., the temperature at which aphase transition from amorphous to crystalline begins) lower than acrystallization temperature of the second material 106. Thecrystallization temperature of the third material 108 may be the sameas, lower than, or higher than the crystallization temperature of thefirst material 102. Furthermore, the crystallization temperature of thesecond material 106 may be the same as, lower than, or higher than thecrystallization temperature of the first material 102.

The structure 120 shown in FIG. 2 may be exposed to a temperature (e.g.,an anneal temperature) above the crystallization temperature of thethird material 108 and below the crystallization temperature of thesecond material 106 to form the structure 130 shown in FIG. 3 . In someembodiments, the temperature may also be above the crystallizationtemperature of the first material 102. The structure 120 may be heated(e.g., annealed) for an amount of time sufficient for the first material102 and the third material 108 to convert from amorphous to asubstantially crystalline form while the second material 106 remains inthe amorphous form.

Continued annealing at the same anneal temperature may form thesemiconductor structure 140 shown in FIG. 4 , where the second material106 is converted from amorphous to a substantially crystalline form.Without being bound by any theory, it is believed that the crystallinestructure of the third material 108 causes the second material 106 tocrystallize at the annealing temperature (i.e., below thecrystallization temperature of the second material 106) by “seeding” orfunctioning as a template from which the second material 106 can form acrystalline structure without forming a grain boundary within the secondmaterial 106. Thus, the crystalline structure of the third material 108may propagate into and through the second material 106 although thecrystallization temperature of the second material 106 is higher thanthe anneal temperature. The blocking material 104 prevents thecrystalline structure of the first material 102 from propagating to thesecond material 106 and prevents a grain boundary from forming in thecenter of the second material 106, Therefore, the second material 106may form a continuous crystalline structure with the third material 108,and may not form an interface or break within the crystalline structureof the second material 106. That is, the second material 106 may exhibita crystalline structure (e.g., structure and orientation) influenced bythe “seeding” of the third material 108, but independent of material thefirst material 102. In some embodiments, the first mated al 102 may havea different crystalline structure than the second material 106 and thethird material 108 (e.g., a different orientation).

In some embodiments, the crystallization temperature of the secondmaterial 106 may be the lower than the crystallization temperature ofthe third material 108. In such embodiments, the second material 106 maycrystallize first and may seed crystallization of the third material108.

The first material 102, the second material 106, and/or the thirdmaterial 108 may each independently be doped with a dopant, for example,with boron, phosphorus, arsenic, another element, or a combinationthereof. Such dopants may be provided as the materials 102, 106, 108 areformed, or may be implanted later. A higher dopant concentration tendsto cause a lower crystallization temperature of materials otherwisehaving the same composition. Therefore, in one example, the firstmaterial 102 and the third material 108 may be doped, and the secondmaterial 106 may be undoped.

Accordingly, a method includes forming a semiconductor structure thatincludes a first material, a blocking material, a second material in anamorphous form, and a third material in an amorphous form. The blockingmaterial is disposed between the first material and the second material.At least the second material and the third material each comprise atleast one element selected from the group consisting of silicon andgermanium. The structure is exposed to a temperature above acrystallization temperature of the third material and below acrystallization temperature of the second material.

Accordingly, certain methods include forming a blocking material over afirst material, forming a second material in an amorphous form over theblocking material, and forming a third material in an amorphous formover the second material. The first material, the second material, andthe third material each include at least one element selected from thegroup consisting of silicon and germanium. The second material exhibitsa crystallization temperature higher than crystallization temperaturesof both the first material and the third material. The first material,the blocking material, the second material, and the third material areexposed to a temperature above the crystallization temperatures of boththe first material and the third material and below the crystallizationtemperature of the second material.

Accordingly, other methods include annealing a structure comprising afirst material, a blocking material, a second material in an amorphousform, and a third material in an amorphous form at a temperature abovecrystallization temperatures of both the first material and the thirdmaterial and below a crystallization temperature of the second material.The first material, the second material, and the third material eachcomprise at least one element selected from the group consisting ofsilicon and germanium. The blocking material is between the firstmaterial and the second material. The second material is between theblocking material and the third material.

The methods disclosed herein may be used to form the semiconductorstructure 140 having a substantially continuous crystalline material(i.e., the materials 106 and 108) having a thickness T of at least about100 Å over the blocking material 104. The thickness T may be greaterthan a thickness at which the material can be conventionally formedentirely in crystalline form at the annealing temperature. For example,the material may have a thickness of at least about 600 Å, at leastabout 1,000 Å, or even up to 10 μm. Crystalline materials of suchthicknesses may be difficult or impossible to produce reliably attemperatures that do not damage certain electronic components (e.g.,temperatures of 600° C. or less). The semiconductor structure 140 formedas described above may be substantially free of amorphous silicon andgermanium. Furthermore, the second material 106 may be free of a grainboundary within the second material 106 (though the interface betweenthe second material 106 and the blocking material 104 may be defined asa grain boundary) and may, therefore, be more suitable for applicationsin which a single crystalline material is beneficial.

Thus, the semiconductor structure 140 may be utilized as a transistor(e.g., a vertical thin-film transistor (TFT)) that exhibits uniformityof crystalline structure throughout its thickness. The semiconductorstructure 140 may be patterned by conventional techniques to form atransistor that includes a channel region, and a source region and adrain region coupled to the channel region, with the transistorexhibiting a uniform crystalline structure. Thus, the transistor may besubstantially free of grain boundaries, especially in its channelregion.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, a semiconductor structure includes afirst crystalline material, a blocking material over the firstcrystalline material, a second crystalline material over the blockingmaterial, and a third crystalline material over the second crystallinematerial. The first, second, and third crystalline materials eachinclude at least one element selected from the group consisting ofsilicon and germanium. The second crystalline material and the thirdcrystalline material together define a continuous crystalline structure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a memory device 500 inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The memory device 500includes at least one memory cell having at least one semiconductorstructure (e.g., the semiconductor structure 140 shown in FIG. 4 )according to embodiments of the disclosure, as described above, inoperative communication with a storage element. The semiconductorstructure 140 may include a vertical TFT that acts as a switch forenabling and disabling current flow through the memory cell. The memorydevice 500 includes a memory array 502 comprising the memory cells and acontrol logic component 504. The memory array 502 may include multiplememory cells including the at least one semiconductor structure 140according to embodiments of the disclosure. The control logic component504 may be configured to operatively interact with the memory array 502so as to read, write, or refresh any or all memory cells within thememory array 502. The memory device 500 including the semiconductorstructure 140 may be formed by conducting additional process acts, whichare not described in detail herein.

The semiconductor structure 140 (FIG. 4 ) or portions thereof may beincorporated in memory structures, memory cells, arrays including thememory cells, memory devices, switching devices, other semiconductordevices including the arrays, and systems including the arrays byconventional techniques. Embodiments of the semiconductor structure 140may be used in a variety of memory cells (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory) and/or transistor configurations. Non-limitingexamples include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM),dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), three-dimensional (3D) DRAM, NAND,synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM), flash memory,resistive random-access memory (ReRAM), conductive bridge random-accessmemory (conductive bridge RAM), magnetoresistive random-access memory(MRAM), phase change material (PCM) memory, phase change random-accessmemory (PCRAM), spin-torque-transfer random-access memory (STTRAM),oxygen vacancy-based memory, programmable conductor memory,ferroelectric random-access memory (FE-RAM), reference field-effecttransistors (RE-FET), etc.

Memory devices 500 including the semiconductor structure 140 formed inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure may be formed byconducting additional process acts, which are not described in detailherein. The memory devices 500 may be used in an electronic system 600as shown in FIG. 6 . The electronic system 600 may comprise, forexample, a computer or computer hardware component, a server or othernetworking hardware component, a cellular telephone, a digital camera, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a portable media (e.g., music) player,a Wi-Fi or cellular-enabled tablet such as, for example, an iPad® orSURFACE® tablet, an electronic book, a navigation device, etc. Theelectronic system 600 includes at least one memory device 602, whichincludes at least one semiconductor device including memory cells havingat least one semiconductor structure (e.g., a vertical TFT) aspreviously described. The electronic system 600 may further include atleast one electronic signal processor device 604 (often referred to as a“microprocessor”). The electronic signal processor device 604 may,optionally, include at least one semiconductor structure as previouslydescribed. The electronic system 600 may further include one or moreinput devices 606 for inputting information into the electronic system600 by a user, such as, for example, a mouse or other pointing device, akeyboard, a touchpad, a button, or a control panel. The electronicsystem 600 may further include one or more output devices 608 foroutputting information (e.g., visual or audio output) to a user such as,for example, a monitor, a display, a printer, an audio output jack, aspeaker, etc. In some embodiments, the input device 606 and the outputdevice 608 may comprise a single touchscreen device that can be usedboth to input information to the electronic system 600 and to outputvisual information to a user. The one or more input devices 606 andoutput devices 608 may communicate electrically with at least one of thememory device 602 and the electronic signal processor device 604.

Accordingly, a memory device is disclosed, which includes at least onethin-film transistor and a storage element in operative communicationwith the at least one thin-film transistor. The at least one thin-filmtransistor includes a first crystalline material, a second crystallinematerial over the first crystalline material, and a third crystallinematerial over the second crystalline material. The first, second, andthird crystalline materials each include at least one element selectedfrom the group consisting of silicon and germanium. A blocking materialseparates the first crystalline material from the second crystallinematerial. The second crystalline material and the third crystallinematerial together define a continuous crystalline structure. In someembodiments, the blocking material may separate the second crystallinematerial from the third crystalline material, rather than from the firstcrystalline material. In such embodiments, the second crystallinematerial and the first crystalline material together define a continuouscrystalline structure.

Furthermore, a system is disclosed that, in some embodiments, includesmemory comprising memory cells comprising at least one verticalthin-film transistor and a processor in operative communication with atleast one input device, at least one output device, and the at least onememory cell. The at least one vertical thin-film transistor comprises afirst crystalline material, a blocking material over the firstcrystalline material, and a substantially continuous crystallinematerial over the blocking material. The substantially continuouscrystalline material comprises a second crystalline material and a thirdcrystalline material. The first crystalline material, the secondcrystalline material, and the third crystalline material each compriseat least one element selected from the group consisting of silicon andgermanium. The system further includes a processor in operativecommunication with at least one input device, at least one outputdevice, and the memory.

The following examples serve to explain embodiments of the invention inmore detail. These examples are not to be construed as being exhaustiveor exclusive as to the scope of this invention.

EXAMPLES Example 1: Solid Phase Crystallization of a Three-Layer SiGeStack with a Barrier

An oxide material was formed over an amorphous, phosphorus-dopedSi_(0.2)Ge_(0.8) substrate having a thickness of about 250 Å. An undopedamorphous SiGe material having a molar ratio of about 1 mole Si to 1mole Ge (i.e., SiGe) was formed over the oxide material at a thicknessof about 600 Å. An undoped Si_(0.2)Ge_(0.8) material was formed over theoxide material at a thickness of about 250 Å.

The structure was placed in a chamber and annealed in a nonoxidizingenvironment at 600° C., a temperature higher than the crystallizationtemperature of Si_(0.2)Ge_(0.8) but lower than the crystallizationtemperature of SiGe. FIG. 7 shows an image obtained via scanningtransmission electron microscopy (STEM) of a cross-section of thestructure. The Si_(0.2)Ge_(0.8) substrate 702 appears near the bottom ofthe image, with the oxide material 704, the SiGe material 706, and theSi_(0.2)Ge_(0.8) material 708 thereon. The crystalline structure of thematerials 706 and 708 appears to be continuous. FIG. 8 shows across-section of a larger portion of the structure, and shows differentcrystalline structures in different areas (e.g., at the left of theimage, at the center of the image, and at the right of the image), yetthe crystalline structures appear continuous between the materials 706and 708.

Without being bound to any particular theory, it appears that substrate702 and the top Si_(0.2)Ge_(0.8) material 708 each crystallized beforethe SiGe material 706. Once the material 708 crystallized, the SiGematerial 706 began to crystallize at a temperature below itscrystallization temperature using the top material 708 as a template.The crystalline structure of the wafer 702 appeared to have no effect onthe crystalline structure of the SiGe material 706.

Comparative Example 2: Solid Phase Crystallization of a Three-Layer SiGeStack without a Barrier

A substrate of amorphous, phosphorus-doped Si_(0.2)Ge_(0.8) having athickness of about 250 Å was formed. An undoped amorphous SiGe materialhaving a molar ratio of about 1 mole Si to 1 mole Ge (i.e., SiGe) wasformed directly over the amorphous Si_(0.2)Ge_(0.8) (i.e., without firstforming an oxide layer) at a thickness of about 600 Å. An undopedSi_(0.2)Ge_(0.8) material was formed over the undoped amorphous SiGematerial at a thickness of about 250 Å.

The structure was placed in a chamber and annealed in a nonoxidizingenvironment at 600° C., a temperature higher than the crystallizationtemperature of Si_(0.2)Ge_(0.8) but lower than the crystallizationtemperature of SiGe. FIG. 9 shows an image obtained via STEM of across-section of the structure. The substrate 902 appears near thebottom of the image, with the SiGe material 906 and the Si_(0.2)Ge_(0.8)material 908 thereon. The crystalline structure of the material 906appears to have formed a discontinuity along a grain boundary 910. Thatis, the bottom portion of the SiGe material 906 below the grain boundary910 appears to exhibit a similar crystalline structure to that of thesubstrate 902, and the top portion of the SiGe material 906 above thegrain boundary 910 appears to exhibit a similar crystalline structure tothat of the material 908. The grain boundary 910 appears to benon-planar (i.e., nonlinear in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 ).

Without being bound to any particular theory, it appears that thesubstrate 902 and the top Si_(0.2)Ge_(0.8) material 908 eachcrystallized before the SiGe material 906. The SiGe material 906 beganto crystallize below its crystallization temperature using both the topmaterial 908 and the substrate 902 as templates. The crystallizationfronts met within the SiGe material 906 at the grain boundary 910.

The presence of the grain boundary 910 and its non-planar shape maycause variability in the electrical performance of the structure, and,when used in a device such as a vertical TFT, may cause electricalperformance and reliability issues.

While certain illustrative embodiments have been described in connectionwith the figures, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize andappreciate that embodiments encompassed by the disclosure are notlimited to those embodiments explicitly shown and described herein.Rather, many additions, deletions, and modifications to the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the scope ofembodiments encompassed by the disclosure, such as those hereinafterclaimed, including legal equivalents. In addition, features from onedisclosed embodiment may be combined with features of another disclosedembodiment while still being encompassed within the scope of thedisclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device, comprising: a first crystallinematerial comprising at least one element selected from the groupconsisting of silicon and germanium; a blocking material over the firstcrystalline material; a second crystalline material over the blockingmaterial, the second crystalline material comprising at least oneelement selected from the group consisting of silicon and germanium; anda third crystalline material over the second crystalline material, thethird crystalline material comprising at least one element selected fromthe group consisting of silicon and germanium and exhibiting acrystallization temperature different from a crystallization temperatureof the second crystalline material, the second crystalline material andthe third crystalline material together defining a continuouscrystalline structure.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the secondcrystalline material is free of a grain boundary within the secondcrystalline material.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the firstcrystalline material and the third crystalline material exhibit a commonchemical composition.
 4. The device of claim 1, further comprising adopant in at least one material selected from the group consisting ofthe first crystalline material, the second crystalline material, and thethird crystalline material.
 5. The device of claim 4, wherein the dopantcomprises an element selected from the group consisting of boron,arsenic, and phosphorus.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the blockingmaterial comprises a material selected from the group consisting of anoxide, a nitride, and a carbon-containing material.
 7. The device ofclaim 1, wherein at least one thin-film transistor comprises the firstcrystalline material, the blocking material, the second crystallinematerial, and the third crystalline material and further comprises astorage element in operative communication with the at least onethin-film transistor.
 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the devicecomprises one or more memory cells selected from the group consisting ofrandom-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), dynamicrandom-access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random-access memory(SDRAM), flash memory, resistive random-access memory (ReRAM),conductive bridge random-access memory (conductive bridge RAM),magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM), phase change material(PCM) memory, phase change random-access memory (PCRAM),spin-torque-transfer random-access memory (STTRAM), oxygen vacancy-basedmemory, programmable conductor memory, ferroelectric random-accessmemory (FE-RAM), and reference field-effect transistors (RE-FET).
 9. Asystem, comprising: memory including memory cells comprising at leastone vertical thin-film transistor, the at least one vertical thin-filmtransistor comprising: a first crystalline material comprising at leastone element selected from the group consisting of silicon and germanium;a blocking material adjacent to the first crystalline material; and asubstantially continuous crystalline material adjacent to the blockingmaterial, the substantially continuous crystalline material comprising asecond crystalline material and a third crystalline material, the secondcrystalline material and the third crystalline material each comprisingat least one element selected from the group consisting of silicon andgermanium, the third crystalline material exhibiting a crystallizationtemperature lower than a crystallization temperature of the secondcrystalline material; and a processor in operative communication with atleast one input device, at least one output device, and the memory. 10.The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one vertical thin-filmtransistor is substantially free of amorphous silicon and amorphousgermanium.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the blocking materialexhibits a dielectric constant of from about 1 to about
 100. 12. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the blocking material comprises a carbonfilm, aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, silicon oxide, or siliconnitride.
 13. The device of claim 1, wherein the blocking materialcomprises a thickness of between about 1 Å and about 50 Å.
 14. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein a combined thickness of the secondcrystalline material and the third crystalline material comprises fromat least about 100 Å to about 1000 Å.
 15. The device of claim 1, whereineach of the first crystalline material, the second crystalline material,and the third crystalline mated al comprises a silicon germaniummaterial.
 16. The device of claim 1, further comprising a dopant in thefirst crystalline material and the third crystalline material.
 17. Adevice, comprising: a first crystalline material comprising at least oneelement selected from the group consisting of silicon and germanium; ablocking material adjacent to the first crystalline material; a secondcrystalline material adjacent to the blocking material, the secondcrystalline material comprising at least one element selected from thegroup consisting of silicon and germanium; and a third crystallinematerial adjacent to the second crystalline material, the thirdcrystalline material comprising at least one element selected from thegroup consisting of silicon and germanium and exhibiting a differentchemical composition than the second crystalline material, the secondcrystalline material and the third crystalline material exhibiting thesame crystalline orientation, and the first crystalline materialexhibiting a different crystalline orientation than the crystallineorientation of the second crystalline material and the third crystallinematerial.
 18. The device of claim 17, wherein the first crystallinematerial and the second crystalline material exhibit different chemicalcompositions.
 19. The device of claim 17, wherein the first crystallinematerial and the third crystalline material exhibit different chemicalcompositions.
 20. The device of claim 17, further comprising a dopant inthe first crystalline material and the third crystalline material.